On the Yarn Train to Portland

Up at 3:30 a.m. to be on time to my friend Keisha's house by 5:15 a.m., so that we can get the bus to the light rail to downtown Seattle King Street Station, so that we can catch the Amtrak Yarn Train to Portland.

This was my first foray on the yarn train and my trusty navigating sidekick was with me (Keisha - who I don't know what I would have done without her) so I knew I was going to have a good day.

We arrived at King Street station and ran into knit-buddy Carrie and her friends who were also taking the 7:25 a.m. train to Portland - FUN TIMES!

At the King Street Station with some friends (me in the middle)

After arriving in Portland (Union Station), Keisha mapped out our travel for the day. And off we went.

First stop was Northwest Wools. Nice little shop and I bee-lined it to the big display of Madelintosh - I didn't buy any but it was nice to just feel the softness of the yarn and see all the beautiful colors. I did end up buying some Cascade Ultra Pima Cotton in red and orange and a discounted notions bag by the Knitting Bee.

Next stop, Pearl Fiber Arts. Really liked this shop, ended up buying some Cotton Classic Lite from Tahki Yarns in white for the penguin bag charm/keychains I'm making.

Lion Brand Amigurumi Penguin

Next stop, Knit Purl. I bought a new knitting bag, which I love, but it was more out of necessity than wanting a new bag - the bag I brought along to carry my belongings was on the verge of ripping, so new Knit Purl bag it is! Also, here I was eyeing this really beautiful yarn that was super soft (Alpha B Yarn - Sexy B) I didn't see any colors that I was in love with, so I noted the yarn and decided I would maybe buy some at a later date.

Last stop, Dublin Bay Knitting Company. I talked myself out of buying the Cascade Superwash that was going to use for a gift for my brother and his wife who are having twins. I really liked this shop. It was very quaint and I really loved their displays.

We made it to 4 out of the 7 shops on the tour, because I was just too pooped to go any further, so we went to Powell's Books instead. And this is what I call a bookstore, we didn't spend too much time here because we wanted to make sure we made it back in time to catch the 6:50 p.m. train home.

So on our way back to the train station we thought we would stop for some doughnuts - Voodoo Doughnuts of course!

Me (left) and Keisha (right)

But after seeing how long the line was we decided it probably wasn't a good idea, we didn't want to miss our train. We walked back to the train station and settled on ice-cream instead, yes I know, not the same as a Voodoo Doughnut but what could we do. No sooner did we sit down to enjoy our ice-cream, we both received a text message on our phones that the 6:50 p.m. train was delayed to 7:30 p.m.! We were so upset, we could have totally waited in the line at Voodoo and got a doughnut instead - Oh well maybe next time!

Our train left and we headed home - I didn't reach my lovely bed until 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning! All-in-all a great trip, I can't wait to do it again next year....with my trusty navigator Keisha of course.